Ethiopia Prime Minister’s New Defense Minister Is A Woman and So Is 50% Of His Ministerial Cabinet

Ethiopia’s newly appointed ministers take their oath of office on Tuesday at the parliament in the capital Addis Ababa. (Stringer/AFP/Getty Images)

Ethiopia’s reformist prime minister announced Tuesday a new cabinet that is half female, in an unprecedented push for gender parity in Africa’s second-most-populous nation.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has marked his nearly seven months in office with staggering reforms for this once authoritarian country, notably releasing thousands of political prisoners, making peace with Ethiopia’s main enemy, Eritrea, and promising to open up the economy.

The new cabinet, which reduces ministerial positions from 28 to 20, has women in the top security posts for the first time in Ethiopia’s history. Aisha Mohammed will be in charge of defense, and Muferiat Kamil, a former parliamentary speaker, will head the newly formed Ministry of Peace.